The Strangers: Chapter 1 - The First Part of a New Trilogy Based on Amazing 2008 Psychological Horror Movie

The second movie that we saw on Saturday during our movie marathon was this horror thriller that I knew after seeing its trailer few weeks before. Obviously I was interested, even though my wife was not that excited as she knew it's going to be disturbing for her. OK without further ado, let's get right on it.

Brief Story Line

Mary (Madelaine Petsch - Sightless, Hotel for the Holidays etc) and her boyfriend Ryan (Froy Gutierrez - Cruel Summer TV series etc) were having a road trip to celebrate their fifth anniversary. When they reached small town called Venus, their car broke down and while waiting for it to be repaired, they rented a house from Airbnb.

However, their seemingly nice romantic night turned into nightmare when three strangers starting to terrorize Mary and Ryan.

So what would happen to them? You could find out in this movie.

End of Brief Story Line

I was aware that this movie would have similar plot to the 2018 film The Strangers: Prey at Night immediately once I saw the trailer. Since I liked that one and its predecessor, I was curious to find out whether this would also satisfy me. And apparently it did. The movie pretty successfully gave the suspense and intense feeling when the couple were spending the night at the Airbnb. My wife did not really remember about the previous movie's plot until she saw the scene where one of the strangers first appeared. And in that instant, she recollect the horrifying moments and jokingly complained of having to experience it again.

There was no drastic change to the formula here so no surprises for me in term of the story. That is until I saw the ending. Unlike the other movies in the past, this one had a mid end credit scene that was intriguing. If you read the title, it already hinted there would be a second chapter. After further reading on the internet, this was intended to be first installment of a new trilogy and the next movie would have a plot just as I thought. I am not sure if it's going to be fantastic, but it could potentially be refreshing. 

This latest movie was directed by Renny Harlin (Bricklayer, Exorcist: The Beginning etc) who was also set to direct the 2nd and 3rd film. It was said the second movie was going to be released by end of 2024, so we'll see if it will play in Indonesian cinemas then. The story itself was from Bryan Bertino who was the director/writer of the original The Strangers which would explain the consistency level of the horror. The lead cast did their job adequately with very few support cast in minor capacity. In term of terrifying audience, I thought it was quite good. Although if I had to be honest, I felt the earlier films were creepier, scarier and more brutal, but the ending did make it more interesting.

Overall this was an entertaining movie if you like such kind of horror. The intensity was quite maintained and the sound effects were put to good use, adding the thrill of seeing this on large screen in a cinema. It was 91 minutes long including the closing credit which I thought was just the right duration for this sort of movie. I myself was able to enjoy it even if most critics and some audience were not thrilled by it. So if you are interested in seeing this latest horror thriller movie, then you could give it a try. 

Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars